Pop
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Lady Gaga wants to heal your “Disease.” The pop superstar dropped a music video for her latest single on Tuesday (Oct. 29). “I think a lot about the relationship I have with my own inner demons. It’s never been easy for me to face how I get seduced by chaos and turmoil. It makes me […]
HYBE CEO Lee Jae-Sang has shared a public apology following a partial leak of the company’s internal “Weekly Music Industry Report,” which boasted what some have called disparaging remarks about the K-pop industry, including some young artists.
The letter stemmed from a Thursday (Oct. 24) court hearing regarding the HYBE audit carried out by the South Korean National Assembly’s Culture, Sports, and Tourism Committee. The Korea Herald reported that Democratic Party representative Min Hyung-bae revealed the weekly document during the heart. Reportedly spanning around 18,000 pages, Rep. Min noted that the document contains unverified rumors and at times harsh commentary on very young artists, including minors, with alleged statements including, “They debuted at an age when they’re at their most unattractive” and “Surprisingly, none of them are pretty.”
In response to the leak, a letter by Lee that was posted on the company’s official website on Tuesday (Oct. 29) offers an apology “to the artists, industry stakeholders, and fans” who were upset the the revelations.
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“This document was created as part of a process to retrospectively gather various reactions and public opinions on industry trends and issues,” wrote Lee, clarifying that it was shared only with “a limited number of leaders.” However, he acknowledged that it was “highly inappropriate” for the document to feature “provocative and explicit expressions directed at K-pop artists,” adding, “As the representative of the company, I acknowledge all the mistakes and take full responsibility.”
Lee added that HYBE is “reaching out to each agency individually to offer our apologies directly” and continued, “I am also sincerely extending an official apology to all the artists of HYBE Music Group who have been subjected to criticism due to the company.”
Lee further promised “to establish guidelines and strengthen internal controls to prevent such issues from occurring again” and added that the company has halted the creation of such documents. Near the end, he emphasized HYBE’s dedication to the well-being of all artists and its respect of the fans, committing to reforms aimed at contributing positively to the K-pop industry.
Read the full statement (with translations provided by Soompi) below:
As the CEO of HYBE, I extend my sincere apologies regarding the HYBE monitoring document.
Regarding our monitoring document that was highlighted during the National Assembly’s Culture, Sports, and Tourism Committee audit on October 24, I deeply apologize to the artists, industry stakeholders, and fans.
This document was created as part of a process to retrospectively gather various reactions and public opinions on industry trends and issues. Although it was intended to be shared only with a limited number of leaders to understand market and fan sentiments, the content was highly inappropriate. The document contained provocative and explicit expressions directed at K-pop artists, included personal opinions and evaluations of the author, and was preserved in written form. As the representative of the company, I acknowledge all the mistakes and take full responsibility. I am particularly sorry and distressed about the unfounded suspicions of reverse viral marketing that are not true at all, causing misunderstandings and harm to innocent artists and individuals.
I formally and respectfully apologize to the external artists mentioned in the document who have suffered damage and distress. We are also reaching out to each agency individually to offer our apologies directly. Additionally, I am also sincerely extending an official apology to all the artists of HYBE Music Group who have been subjected to criticism due to the company.
I acknowledge the lack of awareness among the leadership who received the document and, as CEO, I have immediately halted the creation of such monitoring documents. I promise to establish guidelines and strengthen internal controls to prevent such issues from occurring again.
Once again, I apologize to the artists, industry stakeholders, fans, and everyone who loves and supports K-pop for the pain caused by this incident. As the company’s representative, I commit to thorough reflection and self-examination to rectify past mistakes and prioritize the rights of all K-pop artists and respect for fans. We will do our utmost to contribute to the healthy development of the K-pop industry.
Thank you. HYBE CEO Lee Jae-Sang
How was school today? The kids at an elementary school in Brooklyn got to tell their parents that they had a substitute teacher — one that really put them to work. BLACKPINK‘s LISA showed up at PS 282 and spent the day teaching a group of students some “Rockstar” moves. LISA’s day teaching is shown […]
With election day nearing, it’s possible that America is about to elect a historic first to the Oval Office. Yes, Kamala Harris could be the first U.S. president to have spoken the immortal words “Padam Padam” on camera.
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“Padam Padam,” of course, is the viral hit from Kylie Minogue’s 2023 album Tension, which stormed TikTok last year and nabbed the inaugural best pop dance recording Grammy in February. This month, the Aussie pop legend returns with Tension II, which precedes a huge global tour in 2025 – both of which Minogue chatted about when she swung by Billboard News for an in-depth interview about Padam-demonium, her second Grammy win, working with Sia and more.
“If there’s one Aussie, you’re probably not far from another Aussie,” Minogue tells Billboard News of teaming up with Sia – whom she calls a “High Priestess” – for “Dance Alone.” “She asked if I’d jump on a track. That’s modern parlance, folks – you jump on people’s tracks these days,” she says, smirking. “She’s so talented and such a legend.”
Tension II also features Bebe Rexha and Tove Lo on “My Oh My,” a playful track where each pop star introduces their name and their star sign (“What’s your name? What’s your sign? I’m Kylie, I’m Gemini”). “When we reached out to Bebe and Tove, I was thinking, ‘I hope neither of them are Gemini.’ It would really help if we were all different star signs,” she laughs. “Thankfully, we were.” Earlier this year, Rexha presented Minogue with the Icon Award at Billboard Women in Music. “That was very generous of her,” Minogue notes.
When I suggest that the Grammys specifically created the best pop dance category for Kylie and “Padam Padam,” she pauses. “I wouldn’t be mad at that,” she replies with a smile. “It’s been a while coming to have that category.”
As for what to expect on the upcoming tour – which finds her headlining New York City’s Madison Square Garden for the first time – Minogue says there will be songs from both Tension albums and “a taste of each decade.”
That includes her Hi-NRG cover of “The Loco-Motion,” the international smash that launched her career and hit No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1988. After years of mixed feelings about a hit single she recorded as a teenager, Minogue is finding “a real joy” returning to the song now. “It was the song that started my career,” she points out. “Over time there was a period where I was like, ‘I don’t know how to do it. It’s so uncool. How do I do it?’ But now everything has come full circle. I can really with all my heart and enthusiasm do this song.”
As for planning the rest of the massive tour? “G-U-L-P” she jokes.
To find out Kylie’s touring essentials (“coffee machine, let’s get real”) and what happened when Minogue met Frances McDormand, watch the full interview here.
The tables turn in Rihanna‘s latest interview, which has the singer asking most of the questions.
Rihanna appears on Tuesday’s (Oct. 29) new episode of Recess Therapy, the feel-good YouTube series featuring interviews with regular kids who usually don’t realize their answers are funny — they’re just being themselves. (You might remember the web series for the “it’s corn” kid that went viral with this video in 2022.)
On the latest episode Rihanna meets 7-year-old Miles, her favorite Recess Therapy kid. Miles has previously talked to stars like Olivia Rodrigo and Dua Lipa, and those videos are probably among those Rihanna’s seen.
“I actually am a fan of yours, Miles,” she tells him on the new episode, adding, “I got a little bit excited about it and I started watching all your videos. You’re really funny.”
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“I know,” Miles says.
Throughout the adorable conversation, Rihanna and Miles discuss songs and shoes, and address important life topics like confidence, thinking too much, lying and making friends.
What’s Miles’ favorite Rihanna song? “Shine bright like a diamond,” he says, without hesitation, which is cuteness overload for Rihanna.
“Love on the Brain” is her favorite to sing, she tells him. “Love on the Brain” is from her eighth studio album, Anti, released in 2016. Pop music lovers have been waiting for Rihanna’s ninth album since then.
Young Miles is much more present than most of us grownup interviewers, with no reason to think in headlines — so, unfortunately for her fans, he doesn’t get scoop on R9 on Recess Therapy. He discusses his love life with pop star instead.
Watch Rihanna’s sweet guest spot on Recess Therapy below.
One week after wrapping up the 2024 dates of her GUTS Tour, Olivia Rodrigo has brought the global trek to TVs around the world, as Olivia Rodrigo: GUTS World Tour, the pop superstar’s debut concert film commemorating her first arena headlining run (in support of the album of the same name), was unveiled on Netflix on Tuesday (Oct. 29).
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In a conversation with Billboard the day before the special was released, Rodrigo explained that the GUTS tour — which reached four continents (South America will become the fifth next March) and grossed $186.6 million, according to Billboard Boxscore — represented a moment that she wanted to preserve in the form of a concert film.
“I think I was just so proud of the show — it felt special,” says Rodrigo. “It was happening at the right time for me and my career, and I wanted to capture it. I’m really excited to have a kind of a time capsule — like I could show my kids, ‘Hey, when your mom was 21, this is what she did every night!’ I think that’s gonna be pretty fun.”
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Olivia Rodrigo: GUTS World Tour showcases the full experience of the show, with elaborate set pieces, ample footage of Rodrigo rocking out with her band, close-ups of screaming super-fans and (of course) smash hits like “Drivers License,” “Vampire” and “Good 4 U.” Rodrigo says that she got the idea for the concert film midway through the arena run, which kicked off in February and wrapped up for the year on Oct. 22.
“I made sure that I had a lot of shows to practice with, because I was pretty nervous for the filming,” she explains. “I think we always had an intention of making a concert film. I would go to all these cities, and I love to get breakfast before I go to the show. I would meet all these people in the various states, and they’d be like, ‘Oh, I just wish I could have gotten tickets, I wasn’t able to,’ and it made me sad. And so I’m really excited that maybe people who wanted to go, who weren’t able to get a seat, can watch it now on Netflix, in the comfort of their own home.”
The special was filmed over two nights at Intuit Dome in Los Angeles in August, and Rodrigo says that she is “so happy that we shot it in my hometown.” At one point in the film, Rodrigo salutes In-N-Out Burger as a nod to the local chain, and is met with roars from the L.A. crowd. “We almost cut it out,” she says of the line in the movie. “They were like, ‘People who don’t live in California aren’t gonna get it!’ I’m like, ‘No. Keep it in. It’s part of who I am!’”
Filming in Los Angeles also allowed Rodrigo to feature Chappell Roan, who opened the first leg of the GUTS tour at the start of her own whirlwind breakthrough year. Roan returned as a surprise guest at the Aug. 20 show to perform her hit “Hot to Go!” alongside Rodrigo, the pop stars embracing and ecstatically dancing around the stage midway through the film.
“I’ve heard lots of really loud screaming in my life and the various shows that I’ve done, but I truly don’t think I’ve ever heard a scream as energetic as the scream when I announced that Chappell was coming onstage,” Rodrigo says. “It was just electric, and people were so excited. It felt like such a really special moment, and so I’m really happy that it’s in the film, for us to be able to watch forever.
“And on a more personal level,” Rodrigo continues, “Chappell was a really big part of the GUTS world tour — she opened for the first leg, and really helped me through a lot of it. I’ve known her for a while, and she’s a really wonderful friend of mine, and so I’m happy that she could be included [in the film].”
Olivia Rodrigo: GUTS World Tour is being released one week before a U.S. presidential election in which women’s rights has become a hot-button issue. Rodrigo’s work with the Fund 4 Good, the charitable component of the GUTS Tour that partnered with local organizations to champion girls’ education and support reproductive rights, will continue beyond the arena run and become a core part of her career moving forward. And while the Fund 4 Good is not an explicit part of the concert film, Rodrigo’s work uplifting young women, onstage and off, is demonstrated throughout its run time.
“I created the Fund 4 Good at the beginning of this year, tied to the tour — I wanted to do something that tried to help or make a difference, and this year felt particularly apt,” Rodrigo explains. “We raised a lot of money for abortion funds in America, through grassroots organizations who raise money to provide hotels or airfare, or can cover medical bills, for women who are unable to get an abortion because of financial situations, or because of what state that they live in.”
Ultimately, Rodrigo says, the Fund 4 Good feels like “the most important part” of the entire GUTS tour. “I really hope that people get out there and vote,” she says, “and that we won’t have to have so many abortion funds next year.”
With the first quarter of the 21st century coming to a close, Billboard is spending the next few months counting down our staff picks for the 25 greatest pop stars of the last 25 years. You can see the stars who have made our list so far here — and now, we examine the century in Britney Spears, a pop force whose dominance over Millennial culture earned her the title as Princess of Pop for her signature vocal tone, hit catalog and show-stopping performances. (Hear more discussion of Britney Spears and explanation of her list ranking on our Greatest Pop Stars podcast tomorrow (Oct. 30).)
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Few came, saw, and conquered global superstardom quite like Britney Spears. At the turn of the millennium, the teen queen captured the hearts of millions with her pop hits — and, unknowingly, set a business model that would carry for decades to come. But even when record labels tried to replicate the magic, they fell short, because it was largely Spears incorporating her creativity and personality into her career that made the Mississippi-born talent such a unique force. As the calendar changed centuries, no one held a tighter grip on pop’s new golden age than Britney, who became an icon with a reliable talent for creating zeitgeist-y moments — years before social media even existed.
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While Spears’ celebrity and artistry recalled pop juggernauts Madonna and Janet Jackson, she was more reserved in relation to the limelight and never fully leaned into her fierce cultural impact. While some of her predecessors purposely aimed to bust down societal doors, Spears just wanted to excel as a pop star. She led with Southern charm and understated humility, and that juxtaposition added something special to her star power as it ascended (and sometimes tumbled) through the 2000s and into the 2010s, remaining squarely in the public consciousness to this day.
Britney Spears
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Britney Spears
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Ironically, there was once a time when Spears’ endurance was up for debate, with comparisons to flash-in-the-pan pop stars of yesteryear. But really, we should’ve known from her first single that she was here to stay. The release of her debut single “…Baby One More Time” in late 1998 marked a cultural reset, jump-starting a reign that enthralled fans, initially shocked parents and forced the industry to follow her lead. With Swedish producer Max Martin at the helm, the song reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 — due, of course, in no small part to the accompanying high school-set music video (which, to the singer’s credit, was all her idea, coming after she rejected a video treatment that was much more convoluted).
At just 16, it was a long time coming for Spears, whose experience and professionalism spanned pageants, gymnastics and a stint on Disney’s All-New Mickey Mouse Club. For the rest of us, it felt instantaneous, with her accompanying album of the same name dropping months later. Coming on the heels of debuts by the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC, the LP brought the burgeoning TRL era of pop music to new heights and became the best-selling debut by a female teenage artist, moving over 14 million copies in the United States. With her growing arsenal of polished pop hits, dance-heavy music videos and girl-next-door persona, Spears set the stage for an even bigger splash at the beginning of the 21st century. (Britney’s ‘90s accomplishments were not factored into the Billboard staff’s calculations when determining her ranking on this solely 21st century-based list.)
Spears’ 2000 sophomore LP Oops!…I Did It Again reunited the star with Max Martin, while bringing in veteran hitmakers Rodney Jerkins and Diane Warren for the “more mature” new effort — an arguable assessment, but the 17-year-old knew how to strike a chord with her fans: After all, she was already on a first-name basis with them. In April 2000, she returned with the ultimate friend zone anthem in the set’s title track, decked out in a cherry red catsuit for the now-iconic music video. Its parent album stormed the Billboard 200 upon its release a month later, selling a staggering 1.319 million copies in its first week — at the time garnering the largest first-week sales ever for an album by a female artist.
If critics dismissed her artistry due to her flashy showmanship and sex appeal, it was that very stage prowess that set her apart. Later that year, she hit the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards to perform a medley of “Oops” and a cover of The Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.” In three minutes, she managed a whole career pivot, tearing off a black suit to reveal a little sparkly ensemble — giving new meaning to being “not that innocent.” The media further vilified her for the performance, but it also set high expectations for what women (and Britney herself) could do in pop music. It was also one of the few windows in her career where she tried to strike a balance between live singing and the athleticism of her choreography as future performances would be mostly lip-synced, with Britney focusing on the physicality of her dancing.
With so much access to celebrity nowadays, it’s hard to fully understand the phenomenon that was Britney Spears at her commercial peak, but she was everywhere — dominating award shows, gracing magazine covers, starring in TV commercials, available for purchase as a Barbie doll and, of course, on the tip of everyone’s tongue. She was the pop princess for a new generation, at once sex-positive but demure, and arm-in-denim-arm with *NSYNC’s Justin Timberlake, the pair making for Y2K music’s ultimate power couple. While she supported her fellow women in pop and minded her business, the teen queen had some people angry, and others excessively inquisitive, a misogyny-laced treatment that would only get its proper reckoning years down the line. From intrusive questions about her virginity to men twice her age discounting her work, she remained mostly posed and polite until her next studio offering: 2001’s Britney.
Spears upped the ante for her third album, stepping to the plate as a young woman who unapologetically owned her sexuality. With a backbone provided by hip-hop superproducers The Neptunes, the set’s slinky lead single, “I’m a Slave 4 U,” served as a radical sonic shift for the star. She was still months away from her 20s, but the transition from teen sensation to adult superstar was met with criticism. Yet the song became another vehicle for her to shine on stage — and at the 2001 VMAs, she draped herself in a seven-foot python and churned out her most unforgettable performance to date. While she played up the role of sex kitten, the accompanying project, which continued her No. 1 streak on the Billboard 200, also captured her exploration of womanhood (“Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman”), yearned for the normalcy of an average life (“Overprotected”) and channeled her inner Janet Jackson (“Boys”).
Those follow-up singles failed to make the same impact as her former releases, possibly due to a rumored radio suppression, reportedly demoting the songs from high rotation. But by then, Spears had something else to focus on: her foray into Hollywood with her debut feature film, Crossroads. The coming-of-age story boasted a noteworthy ensemble, including Zoe Saldaña, Taryn Manning and Kim Cattrall, with Shonda Rhimes debuting her first screenplay — but despite Spears’ affable charm translating well to the silver screen, the movie didn’t hit the mark with critics. Simultaneously, her culture-dominating romance with Timberlake came to an end after three years, with the heartthrob reportedly ending the relationship via text message. With their split, the tabloids took sides, as rumors of infidelity spread concerning Spears and their joint choreographer Wade Robson, and Timberlake fueled the flames while launching his own solo career – particularly with his second solo single, the No. 3 Hot 100 smash “Cry Me a River,” which included a Britney lookalike in its video.
It was clear that Spears needed some time away from the limelight, but before the end of 2002, she called off her planned six-month hiatus and started work on her most liberating album to that point, In the Zone. That set was also preceded by a new wave of headlines, courtesy of another steamy VMA performance – this time finding her lip locking with her idol, Madonna. The lightning-in-a-bottle moment prompted international headlines and downright hysteria: It was actually pretty tame by today’s standards, but those few seconds, complemented by cameras panning to a stone-faced Timberlake, rocked the world. In what could be perceived as the passing of the torch, Spears also recruited Madge for the frisky “Me Against the Music,” the album’s lead single, which was highly-anticipated and well received by fans, but failed to end her commercial dry spell, peaking at No. 35 on the Hot 100.
Released a month after “Music,” Zone dabbled in hip-hop (“Outrageous”), pulsating euro-pop (“Breathe on Me”) and delicate slow songs (“Everytime,” soon to become her signature ballad). Most importantly, tucked six tracks deep on the album was “Toxic,” a theatrical dance-pop track with producers Bloodshy & Avant, led by a thick guitar line and Bollywood strings sample. Spears reportedly fought with her label to release the track as the album’s second single in early 2004 — and in the end, her vision paid off. The hit reached No. 9 on the Hot 100 and won best dance recording at the 2004 Grammys, marking her first (and to date only) win. It remains perhaps the most critically acclaimed three minutes and eighteen seconds of Britney’s career, and was ranked earlier this year as the Billboard staff’s No. 1 song of 2004. The companion video saw secret agent Spears dress as a stewardess, slither around in nothing but diamonds and poison her boyfriend, quickly becoming one of her most beloved visuals.
At a time when it wasn’t cool to like Britney, “Toxic” shifted that narrative. Even though the world still regarded her and pop idol counterparts as record label puppets, she was nothing close to it — calling the shots on single releases and collaborators, and pushing back on the head honcho executives several times during this campaign. She ran with that agency and never looked back. Behind closed doors, though, things were starting to unravel. An impromptu visit to Las Vegas to marry her childhood friend Jason Allen Alexander caused concern. The union was annulled 55 hours afterward. Then, the overworked star suffered a leg injury while filming the video for “Outrageous” during a rare break in between dates of her “Onyx Hotel World Tour,” forcing her to cancel the rest of the trek and altering her performance ability forever.
Britney Spears
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The next few years for Spears were, well, chaotic, to say the least. Her romance with backup dancer-turned-husband Kevin Federline (and their subsequent reality show together) was heating up and the star shifted her perspective. The gloves were off and she was going to do as she pleased, both personally and professionally. Though she never earned the public’s stamp of approval for the relationship, Miss American Dream found ways of owning her decisions and clapping back with her music. A cover of Bobby Brown’s 1988 hit, “My Prerogative,” fronted her first compilation: 2004’s Greatest Hits: My Prerogative, while the eerie “Mona Lisa” foreshadowed her looming troubles. With only hours left until 2005, she dropped by Los Angeles’ KIIS-FM unexpectedly to preview the track, revealing it to be part of a project titled The Original Doll.
For the next few years, career priorities would take a backseat as she and Federline welcomed two children, Sean Preston and Jayden James — but the unrelenting attention of the paparazzi increased and the star became the go-to cover girl for tabloid culture. Juggling motherhood, laying the groundwork for her next album and an eventual divorce from K-Fed put her at the eye of the gossip media storm, helping fuel the rise of outlets like Perez Hilton, TMZ and X17. Embarrassing and intrusive coverage of her led to headlines labeling her an unfit parent, while flashbulb moments like her shaving her head or attacking a paparazzo’s car with an umbrella turned her into a source for national mockery — but in the middle of the madness, Spears frequented nightclubs for inspiration, while recording what was to become her next album, 2007’s Blackout. For the first time in her career, there was no one to reel her in and she took agency, serving as executive producer of the project and exploring new sonic directions and collaborators.
The result? Her magnum opus — demanding the attention of her peers, including Beyoncé and Rihanna, and the rest of the public eye. To this day, Blackout is still celebrated as an influential record for its edgy electro-pop sound and confidently sexual lyrics, and the album was even added to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s musical library and archive in 2012. Brash, experimental and self-aware in its almost-menacing approach, the set was fronted by the Danja-produced “Gimme More,” where the star asserted her celebrity with a seismic three-word intro: “It’s Britney, bitch.” The song reached No. 3 on the Hot 100 — a massive win, considering it followed a lethargic comeback performance of the track on the VMA stage that year that saw her body-shamed and ridiculed.
Despite the universally panned performance and continued public derision of Spears’ personal life in the media, Blackout still sold 290,000 copies in its first week and bowed at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. Even with sizable hits on her hands like the media clapback “Piece of Me” (a top 15 Hot 100 hit, and also her first VMA win for video of the year the next September), her personal life was imploding. She lost physical custody of her sons, while separately, parents Jamie and Lynn Spears (and soon-to-be business manager Lou Taylor) orchestrated a conservatorship over her personhood and estate after putting the singer on a 5150 involuntary psychiatric hold under California state law. The temporary-turned-permanent arrangement declared Britney was incapable of managing her financial affairs and making basic life decisions, but her workload over the following years would prove otherwise.
With all autonomy lost, Spears was pushed to work almost immediately, and everyone turned a blind eye to her restricted freedom as she hit the gym with fresh blonde extensions. She appeared on CBS’ How I Met Your Mother, helping the series log its highest ratings ever, and began recording yet another album, Circus. The 2008 project and its promo cycle was marketed as her return to form, a comeback project to redeem her from the turbulence of recent years — and released on her birthday, no less. It produced the lead single, “Womanizer,” which brought her back to the top of the Hot 100 for the first time since “…Baby One More Time.” She was smiling, in-shape and seemingly happy — and the success continued with follow-up singles: the dance-ready title track (a No. 3 hit) and the cheeky “If U Seek Amy” (No. 19).
The subsequent Circus Starring Britney Spears Tour made its way around the world, but much like an actual circus, the star of the show was being mistreated. A growing disconnect between Spears and her craft became evident in music and performances, showing up more prominently throughout her following releases. Her next album, Femme Fatale, which dropped in 2011, embraced the EDM trend of the early 2010s. While the hits kept on coming (“Hold it Against Me,” No. 1; “Till the World Ends,” with a much-hyped remix featuring Nicki Minaj and Ke$ha, No. 3; and “I Wanna Go,” No. 7), the charm and charisma was starting to lose its spark in her performances and the impact of the conservatorship had taken its toll. Her appearance on Rihanna’s “S&M” remix and “Scream & Shout,” alongside will.i.am, extended her streak of hits, but she was about to run another victory lap and change the face of Las Vegas entertainment forever — whether she liked it or not.
After years of releasing albums and counterpart tours, Spears’ next move revitalized both her career and the Las Vegas entertainment scene. Once a refuge for singers looking to relive their glory days, Sin City was given a facelift when her 2013 residency landed and she became the first contemporary act of her time to hit the strip. Aptly titled Britney: Piece of Me, the 90-minute show featured more than two dozen hits, incorporating classics and fan favorites, with the bells and whistles of her typical pop production. The show debuted weeks before the release of Britney Jean, a makeshift album marketed as her most personal project to-date, yet only produced a medium-sized hit with the campy “Work Bitch” and drew middling reviews.
While still a contrast from the performer she once was, the residency saw Spears slowly come into her own again, running for four years and grossing $137.7 million. And for a fleeting moment, Britney Spears was Britney Spears again – with her million-dollar smile, dancing to a medley of hits at the 2016 Billboard Music Awards, where she also became the third recipient of the BBMA Millennium Award honor. Towards the latter part of the Vegas residency, the singer dropped 2016’s Glory, her last studio album to date, and it sounded like the spark was back: The collection was led by Weeknd-esque “Make Me,” featuring G-Eazy, and followed by a remix of “Slumber Party” with then-newcomer Tinashe. Those singles didn’t become the enduring hits of her ’00s albums, but Glory received strong reviews and served as an invaluable experience for the star, who later described it as “the one thing … that [she] really put her heart into” during her decade-plus conservatorship.
Once the residency wrapped, Spears was seemingly gaining her autonomy back, but a reported dance rehearsal dispute with her father led to the cancellation of a follow-up Vegas residency, Britney: Domination. One red flag led to another and eventually a whistleblower alleged that she had been forced into a mental health facility against her will — and the Free Britney movement was born. Court documents and (most fascinatingly) her Instagram account suddenly became sources to fans for possible clues and hints about her true feelings, turning the conspiracy theory into a full blown pop culture movement, garnering support from other pop icons like Miley Cyrus and Cher. In 2021, the Framing Britney Spears documentary brought more attention, while fan-orchestrated protests outside of court and a brighter spotlight on conservatorship abuse eventually helped Spears secure the right to choose her own legal representation and dismantle the arrangement. Since then, Spears has also told her story on her own terms in her memoir, The Woman in Me, in 2023. The bombshell tell-all sold 1.1 million copies and became a New York Times best-seller within a week of its release. A film adaptation of the book directed by Jon M. Chu is currently in the works at Universal Pictures.
Britney Spears
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The future of Spears’ pop superstardom since ending the 13-year conservatorship remains in question. Since giving up her childhood to an industry that overlooked her creative vision and discounted her achievements, she’s focused on a different chapter of life. Today, she lives a life free from the shackles of her family and the guardianship, and is relearning just how to be an independent adult. For that, she stands as a survivor and perhaps a reluctant hero to many – one whose hits, performances and aesthetic have had an incalculable influence on the last 25 years of pop culture.
Her 2022 Elton John teamup “Hold Me Closer” is her lone hit since the Glory cycle, yet her impact is still alive and well in 2024, even shaping a fresh new batch of stars. Just take a look at this year’s VMAs ceremonies, where countless new-gen pop stars, including Sabrina Carpenter, Tate McCrae and Megan Thee Stallion, incorporated allusions to classic Britney in their appearances and performances. It’s that multigenerational legacy that’s helped Spears become one of the few acts to span top 10 hits across four decades, further cementing her legacy as one of pop’s greatest. Now that she’s achieved her independence and control over her career, whether she’ll make a full return to pop music remains unclear — we only know that if and when she does, the entire pop world will be rapt in attention to watch Britney Spears do it again.
Read more about the Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century here — and be sure to check back Tuesday as we kick off the top five with our No. 5 artist!
THE LIST SO FAR:
Honorable Mentions
25. Katy Perry24. Ed Sheeran23. Bad Bunny22. One Direction21. Lil Wayne20. Bruno Mars19. BTS18. The Weeknd17. Shakira16. Jay-Z15. Miley Cyrus14. Justin Timberlake13. Nicki Minaj12. Eminem11. Usher10. Adele9. Ariana Grande8. Justin Bieber7. Kanye West6. Britney Spears
Shawn Mendes has clearly heard the constant buzz of whispers about his sexuality over the years and on Monday (Oct. 28) the singer addressed the elephant in the room during a quiet moment on his For Friends and Family tour at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Denver.
“I thought about this for a minute today, if I was gonna say something tonight at this part in the set,” Mendes told the crowd while seated on a stool noodling around on his acoustic guitar as seen in a fan’s TikTok video. After the crowd repeatedly shouted “We love you!,” Mendes, 26, continued by describing what it’s been like to grow up in the spotlight.
“I was really young when I started. I was 15 years old… The truth is that I didn’t get to do a lot of 15-year-old things and discover parts of myself that you do at 15,” he explained about going from being a high schooler to traveling the world. “Since I was really young there’s this thing about my sexuality, and people have been talking about it so long. I think it’s kind of silly, because I think sexuality is such a beautifully complex thing, and it’s so hard to just put into boxes.”
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Mendes has kept his dating life pretty private over the past decade, and though he’s been linked with a few other fellow stars, his most high-profile romance was his two-year relationship with Camila Cabello, which inspired a number of his songs, including “Summer of Love” and “Wonder” and their hit 2019 duet, “Señorita.”
“It always felt like such an intrusion on something very personal to me. Something that I was figuring out in myself, something that I had yet to discover and still have yet to discover it,” he told the crowd about writing the confessional new song “The Mountain,” which tackles the persistent rumors about his sexuality head-on with the lyrics: “You can say I’m too young/ You can say I’m too old/ You can say I like girls or boys/ Whatever fits your mold.”
“Writing this song felt really important to me because it felt like a moment where I could address it in a way that felt close to my heart. I guess I’m just speaking freely now because I just want to be able to be closer to everyone and just kind of be in my truth. The real truth about my life and my sexuality is that, man, I’m just figuring it out like everyone,” Mendes said to another round of supportive cheers. “I don’t really know sometimes and I know other times. And it feels really scary because we live in a society that has a lot to say about that. And I’m trying to be really brave and just allow myself to be a human and feel things… And that’s all I really want to say about that for now.”
He then launched into the “You can say I’m too young” verse of “The Mountain,” which is slated for inclusion on the singer’s upcoming fifth studio album, Shawn, which is due out on Nov. 15.
Back in 2019, Mendes told The Guardian that the persistent whispers and speculation about his sexuality was “hurtful… I get mad when people assume things about me because I imagine the people who don’t have the support system I have and how that must affect them.” He said then that the rumors not only hurt him, but also the members of the LGBTQ community who admire him. “That was why I was so angry, and you can see I still get riled up, because I don’t think people understand that when you come at me about something that’s stupid you hurt so many other people,” he said. “They might not be speaking, but they’re listening.”
Mendes discussed the issue in that interview in the wake of a 2018 Rolling Stone cover story in which he addressed the talk head-on, saying, “I feel like I need to go be seen with someone — like a girl — in public, to prove to people that I’m not gay… Even though in my heart I know that it’s not a bad thing. There’s still a piece of me that thinks that. And I hate that side of me.” He later criticized both stories for not painting the full picture of who he is.
Britney Spears has three million reasons to be thankful. The singer took to X on Monday (Oct. 28) to thank her fans for being so supportive of her 2023 tell-all memoir, The Woman in Me, while also encouraging anyone who hasn’t picked up a copy yet to get out there and grab one right now. […]
This week, SM Entertainment released its “30th Anniversary Brand Film” to celebrate its upcoming three-decade milestone since the Korean label’s establishment. The film showcases SM’s evolution into a multinational, publicly traded company through trend-setting, generation-defining acts and songs as captured through the film’s showcase of early artists H.O.T., S.E.S. and BoA, to its latest stars. With such a powerful precedence in the industry, SM and its internal team’s handling of the recent controversy involving Seunghan, a former member of the label’s newest K-pop group RIIZE, has the potential to set a new industry standard — but one that could create a potentially dangerous precedent for its stars.
Debuting in September 2023, RIIZE’s multinational lineup representing Korea, Japan and the U.S., centered on an authentic, “unpolished” image through makeup-free selfies and in-studio content on social media — a refreshing shift from SM’s elaborate, concept-heavy aesthetics. The full, seven-member lineup of Shotaro, Sungchan, Eunseok, Seunghan, Wonbin, Sohee and Anton made its first live appearance at the 2023 KCON Los Angeles festival. Ahead of the first SM artist launch under new corporate owners Kakao Entertainment, sources confirmed to Billboard that the companies specifically met with various digital, streaming and media partners in the U.S. to secure early interest, underscoring intent to present the relatable, down-to-earth guys globally.
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On Sept. 4, 2023, RIIZE released its official first single, “Get a Guitar,” in a partnership with RCA Records, marking a rare moment for an entirely new K-pop group to sign with a U.S. label upon debut. Media messaging pointed to a new, globally focused strategy as RCA Records COO John Fleckenstein commented “RIIZE are set to break new boundaries in global pop with an entirely fresh perspective,” and CEO of SM and Kakao Entertainment America/CBO of SM Entertainment Joseph Chang echoed “RIIZE is ushering in an exciting new era of K-pop.”
RIIZE’s English remake of “Get a Guitar” was released in November, followed by funk duo Chromeo remixing both versions in December. By all accounts, RIIZE was set up to become K-pop’s next global player from the first song with an RCA corporate new post touting “their down-to-earth personalities” and an SM Entertainment press release stating that RIIZE “encapsulate the idea of a team that grows as one while achieving their dreams”.
While RIIZE and teams worked to resonate globally, they simultaneously grappled with an unfolding controversy involving Seunghan, with its aftermath ultimately challenging the group’s image.
In August, private photos showing Seunghan kissing a woman leaked which stirred some fan resentment over “idol-appropriate” behavior. SM issued statements apologizing and threatened legal action against those circulating the images. Another leak came surfaced in October, this time a video of Seunghan smoking publicly, leading SM to announce an indefinite suspension, a move marking a hardline approach to RIIZE’s image.
What followed was 10 months of silence on Seunghan’s status in the group as RIIZE looked to spread its name internationally. The band’s RIIZING DAY Fan-Con Tour hit Asia and North America through the spring and summer, with recorded incidents in Mexico City and Los Angeles showing crowds chanting Seunghan’s name and that “RIIZE is seven.”
Earlier this month, the SM Entertainment management team in charge of RIIZE, known as Wizard Production, announced on Oct. 10, that Seunghan would return to “gradually participate in some of the group’s scheduled activities for November and greet the fans once again.” That decision was reversed about 48 hours later when another announcement dropped, with directors Kim Hyeong Guk and Lee Sang Min stating that “we realized that our decision had actually hurt fans more and caused them greater confusion instead.” Indeed, in the hours following Seunghan’s initial return announcement, some RIIZE fans protested by surrounding SM Entertainment’s local headquarters in Seoul with funeral wreaths — an increasingly common but concerning move from emotional K-pop listeners aiming to display that its decisions leave them dead to such fans. Phrases like “RIIZE Is 6” and “Seunghan Out” were decorated on the expensive wreaths (which cost between $70-$170) that other local fans worked together to destroy and remove from premises.
Member Wonbin had even posted a letter to fans on RIIZE’s Weverse account in what seemed like an effort to console potentially upset fans and reiterate it was a decision made by the entire group. When Seunghan’s official departure was announced, that letter was deleted without explanation.
But RIIZE’s issue is more complicated than playing by local rules.
Korea’s pop-culture scene, and K-pop in particular, tends to take a more conservative approach with an emphasis on idol-like behavior crucial for securing lucrative brand deals and media exposure within Korea. Like any label, SM has a track record of addressing scandals — notably standing by NCT‘s Taeyong through an online scamming controversy ahead of his official debut and allowing him to directly address the situation — Seunghan’s situation appears to draw a harsher line, suggesting, now, that even pre-debut leaks of personal moments could be grounds for suspension.
Whether or not this comes from SM’s new owners in Kakao, the confusion and subsequent fan outrage — leading to over 307,000 signatures on a Change.org petition — arguably comes from the specific shaping and marketing that came with creating RIIZE.
Over 300,000 people have now signed a petition demanding the reinstatement of K-pop star Seunghan back into the boy band RIIZE. The star was placed on an indefinite hiatus in November 2023 after leaked photos of him kissing a woman in bed sparked outrage among fans who expect… pic.twitter.com/H3iwsD7bBb— Change.org (@Change) October 24, 2024
Had SM followed its previous playbooks from seniors like Girls’ Generation, NCT 127 and aespa, RIIZE would have likely made a successful debut in Korea, appearing across the country’s different TV shows and media to promote an initial single, and eventually expanding its reach through overseas promotions and a deal with a U.S. label or distribution. In fact, the only SM project to launch simultaneously with a stateside label partner was its seven-member supergroup SuperM, which sent its debut EP to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 as a full-fledged Capitol Records collaboration, but failed to top the charts or land a hit single in Korea.
Instead, RIIZE’s worldview was primed to extend beyond South Korea from before “Guitar,” with the management choices behind it rightfully expected to keep such expectations in mind.
While Seunghan’s fate seems sealed over the permanent nature of RIIZE’s latest statement, the challenge now resides on the remaining six members to navigate similar controversies. If a member is caught smoking will he be put on hiatus? Even with nearly one-third of South Korean men identifying as smokers? And will RIIZE members never be allowed to date either without withdrawing from the team? Didn’t Anton being the son of a beloved Korean singer and actress help the group gain local attention? With an industry standard seven years on their contracts — with many acts, particularly those under SM, lasting beyond — one has to wonder what type of protections and security will be needed for RIIZE to ensure there are no unsavory leaks or slips as the group moves into their second year together. Nearly half of South Korean adolescents are faced with severe stress as are over a quarter of adults, a figure expected to be quite higher given the known pressures of the K-pop industry. Is RIIZE truly going to be able to live as their authentic selves?
Earlier this week, the six members of RIIZE were announced to join November’s Rolling Loud Thailand, the local version of the hip-hop festival that had an official cannabis partner last year. (Cannabis that has less than 0.2 percent THC is legal in Thailand; non-medical cannabis use is illegal in South Korea and was only recently approved for medical import in 2019) The image of a conservatively managed boy band performing at the fest made some call the decision “hypocritical” and “ironic.”
Yet, one can’t help but wonder if RIIZE and its team had addressed Seunghan’s situation with the authenticity they promoted from the start, things might have unraveled less controversially and confusingly.
As noted in a dinner conversation for a Billboard digital cover story, youngest member Anton shared that the group never considered RIIZE as having a “concept” but that “we’re just trying to show our authentic selves.” In fact, RIIZE, as well as Seunghan, have been brave in sharing their authentic selves with the public — whether through their work as artists or unapproved leaks from their pre-debut private lives. Marketing an image is an important part of an artist and making it believable is something only the best executives can pull off. Only one party has aligned with RIIZE’s larger messaging around authenticity and growth. Consequently, that side is also the one pulling the strings on who stays and who departs the group, leaving the stakes higher — and more dangerous — as the group and the K-pop industry moves forward and increasingly more international.